Questions about the necessity of war

The war in Iraq is both hasty and unnecessary.

“President” Bush’s actions do not promote peace; they only promote unpopular policy in a region that does not appreciate outsiders telling them how to run their countries. How can the killing of innocent civilians be considered peaceful?

Does Bush even know why we’re fighting? First it was to get rid of weapons of mass destruction. Then it was to “liberate” the people of Iraq. Now that the Iraqi people have been “liberated,” we won’t let U.N. weapons inspectors into the country. Didn’t we agree in the beginning to let them in before we started poking around?

Also, the whole concept of a preemptive strike astounds me. Next time you think someone is going to start a fight with you, just deck them. Then inform the police that you were simply performing a preemptive strike. Hey, if it’s good enough for the president, then it’s good enough for you.

The economy before the war was in shambles and Bush’s re-election (to be more accurate, his first election) wasn’t looking so hot. To resolve this, Bush looked toward the old adage, to quote the Dead Kennedys, “Economy is looking bad, let’s start another war.” Bush’s plan is not only to boost the economy by starting this war,but to further boost it by offering contracts to American companies to rebuild Iraq. Furthermore, when the new American friendly Iraqi leadership takes hold, America will be wallowing in money. Bush hopes the collapse of Iraq will cause other Middle Eastern countries to follow, thus, creating a region of U.S. friendly countries. Bush really has nothing to lose and everything to gain, even a legitimate election.

But what about the Iraqi people? There is no arguing that their lives were filled with oppressions and despair under the rule of Saddam. It is also true that the people are exponentially happier now that he is gone. However, the people of Iraq do not like the fact that an outside force toppled Saddam.

They also aren’t going to be happy when the interim leadership takes over. I just hope they don’t end up being forgotten as quickly as the people of Afghanistan, who still live in fear of the Taliban and don’t have the protection they need and deserve.

Stephen Schmitt is a freshman majoring in biology